


The Trouble with Hufflepuffs

by Alsike



Category: Once Upon a Time (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Hogwarts, F/F, I Don't Even Know, Organized Crime, What Have I Done
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-15
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-12 23:18:11
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,791
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3358979
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Alsike/pseuds/Alsike
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ruby Lucas's life wasn't anything like she'd thought it would be. Being born a werewolf, she hadn't thought of much but staying safe. But then came Hogwarts and Emma and the War, and now things were different. But she was still a Hufflepuff.</p><p>Some things were for life.</p><p>(Red Lace Hogwarts AU that does not actually take place at Hogwarts.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Trouble with Hufflepuffs

**Author's Note:**

> Felt like I had fallen off the face of the earth for long enough! Wrote this piece of utter absurdity on a whim. And I feel much the same about HP AUs as I do about Rock Band AUs, so WHY? WHY did I write this? But I did. So here it is.
> 
> Happy Valentine's Day - especially to everyone who spent part of it sitting on the floor and crying alone. (like me) :)

Ruby had never dreamed big. She couldn’t. Some people were born lucky, but Ruby had been born a werewolf. She hadn’t even thought she'd be allowed to go to Hogwarts, but her grandmother had fought to get her in. And even though the Lucases were no one’s idea of wizarding royalty, somehow Granny had been enough of a pain in everyone’s arse to make them let Ruby in, on condition of her good behavior.

Ruby had sworn to be as good as gold, always take her potion, and really do her best not to savage anyone. She’d meant it. When the sorting cap landed on her head it had nearly exploded off again with its shout of “Hufflepuff!” She’d just wanted to pass her exams, get out and go back home to work in her grandmother’s wizarding inn where, though everyone knew she was a werewolf, no one much cared anymore. But being in Hufflepuff didn’t mean you didn’t have fun. In between getting caught out after curfew by Head Girl Snow and remedial charms with Emma Swan, the Girl who Lived, she had a good time for the first couple years.

And then the war came. And now, somehow, here she was.

“We’re going out! We’re going out right now!” Emma grabbed her hands and threw them up in the air. “We’re Aurors!”

Ruby couldn’t help the grin on her own face. They’d survived school and the war. They’d passed their exams. They’d done their training courses, and now they were finally real Aurors. Her life was utterly different from how she’d expected it to be. It was amazing.

The bar was dark and Emma lined up ten shots of firewhiskey. “Come on!” she said, lifting the first on her end. “To us! Because we’re awesome!”

“God, Emma, you’re going to kill us both,” Ruby said, then grinned and drank. She wouldn’t be as affected by it as Emma, and promised herself she’d look out for her, not that the Girl who Lived and Hero of the Second Mills War couldn’t take care of herself. But an hour or two into the music and dancing, Emma was nowhere in sight.

Ruby, feeling a little like she’d been ditched, sipped her beer and stood watching the dancing. Although she’d made it through school and into the Aurors as a werewolf, it didn’t make people comfortable around her. And she was well known enough for being Emma’s friend to not be able to keep it a secret.

“What’s this?”

Ruby glanced around. A girl, dark hair and crystal eyes had sidled up to her and was tugging on her house tie. Emma teased her for it, but it went well with a black buttondown, unlike the silly Gryffindor red and gold.

The girl offered her a sly grin. “It means you’re a Hufflepuff, right?”

Ruby would have been surprised that she had to ask, but her accent clearly marked her as someone from the Melbourne Magical Institute.

“Yeah,” Ruby said, unsure of how to take it. Hufflepuffs fought and died in the war like everyone else. But they were still the butt of everyone’s jokes. Even a girl from the colonies had probably heard that Hufflepuffs were duffers.

“I heard Hufflepuffs like to get really dirty in bed.”

Ruby froze. “What?”

“Yeah,” the girl wiggled her eyebrows. “Gryffindors are boring – missionary or bust. Ravenclaws are too self-involved. Slytherins only fuck other Slytherins, but Hufflepuffs,” she grinned. “They get you off, and I haven’t met one who said no to spanking.”

Ruby just stared. She was being hit on. She was _never_ hit on, by anyone who knew she was a werewolf. And this girl was gorgeous. “Can I, um, can I go home with you, please?”

The girl laughed, bright and warm. “Hot off the mark, aren’t you?”

Ruby flushed bright red. “Hey,” she said, trying to find a way to not make this hugely embarrassing. “You were the one who brought up spanking.”

“Buy me a drink first, charmer.” The girl grinned. “Then we can negotiate.” She adorned the last word with a wiggle of her eyebrows.

“Maybe I could get a dance too?”

The girl smiled up at her. “Definitely.”

—

Ruby’s hands were settled in at her hips and her nose buried in her hair, and the girl moved with her, easy and sexy and pleased. “What’s your name?” Ruby finally asked. “Unless you don’t want to tell me. But I just thought – I mean I’d really like to know your name.”

“It’s Lacey,” the girl said, and she laughed at her like Ruby was the most hilarious thing alive. “You’re not really good at this, are you?”

“Shut up,” Ruby said and smiled. “At least I want to know your name. Isn’t that, like, respectful, or something?”

Lacey caught her tie again and tugged it down firmly. She smiled a dangerous smile. “I’m not looking for respect. I’m looking for worship. Think you can handle that, Hufflepuff girl?”

Ruby reached out and closed her own hand around Lacey’s, making her lift up so there was no more tension on the tie. “I think I can.”

Lacey seemed to feel the strength in her grip, because her eyes widened slightly, and then narrowed again as she smiled. “Prove it.”

—

Kissing her hard, Ruby pushed the girl up against the door of the apartment. Lacey’s leg hooked over her hip, and they were crushed together, mouths locked, nipping and wet.

“Key,” Lacey gasped, and Ruby slipped her hand into her cleavage and extracted Lacey’s keys. She handed them over and stepped back as Lacey, hand shaking, fit them into the lock and turned it. She stepped inside, and glanced back. “You coming?”

Ruby had sobered up by then, though. She stood still. “Um, full disclosure? I’m a werewolf.”

Lacey’s posture straightened, her ears seeming to prick like a cat who’s seen something interesting. “You are?” Then she cocked her head to the side and pouted. “Does that mean you’re not allowed to bite?” She grinned. “It’s okay. I can bite enough to make up for it.”

—

“That was amazing.” Lacey, her smooth back glowingly pale in the moonlight, turned her head, sweat making her hair cling to her neck, skin still flushed. She smiled, the sharpness of her grin blissed into sweetness.

“Glad you thought so.” Ruby traced the dark bruising along her throat and down her collarbone with her eyes, rather shocked that she’d managed to do that kind of damage without using her teeth. “Do I, um, leave now?”

“Do you want to?”

“No.”

Lacey stretched out and pulled her in until they were in a comfortable tangle of limbs and bodies. “Then stay. But I’m not promising you brekkie.”

—

Lacey woke up to the scent of pancakes and bacon and was sure she’d died and gone to heaven. She put the sheet around herself and headed into the kitchen to find Ruby, wand out, frying pan sizzling bacon over a floating ball of flame.

“You cook?”

Ruby nodded.

“Fuck.” Lacey sidled up to her and curled into her body. “I might have to keep you around, Hufflepuff girl.”

—

Dark Wizard Gold didn’t care about blood purity or about crushing the muggles. He only cared about money. And in order to care about his money, he had to make certain that his subordinates weren’t about to completely fuck up all his plans.

“What is this I hear about you dating an Auror?”

“Look,” Lacey said. “I figure it would be good to have a line into the Auror’s information network. You know, keep them close, see if they’re about to make a move.”

“Yes… yes,” Gold said slowly, as if he was considering the prospect. “That would be completely logical, a very insightful idea, except for one thing.”

“What?” Lacey asked, trying not to show the other problem that was all too obvious to her – Ruby was hot, and kinky, and cooked, and honestly, if she gave her one of those dirty smiles and asked her to go straight, Lacey would do it in a heartbeat.

“You're a foreigner, so I understand why you are having trouble here. But in wizarding Britain we have certain _types_ of people who are common. Some of those types can be bought, some can be manipulated, some can be tempted, but one type can't. One type will turn you in in the blink of an eye if they find out you've broken the law! They won't even consider otherwise!”

“There are always do-gooders,” Lacey said, hesitantly.

“It's true,” Gold said. “There are always do-gooders. But there are do-gooders and then there are one step worse. There are do-gooders, and then there are Hufflepuffs.”

Silence filled the air. Then Lacey said, “Oh.”

“You get one chance with a Hufflepuff,” Gold said. “One chance to try to make them more loyal to you than to anything else. But this is Ruby Lucas, Auror, War Hero, pain in the bloody ass. You've already lost.”

“I… see.”

\---

“Hey! Lacey! Come in!” Ruby's smile was warm and Lacey sidled in, dropping her satchel on the side of the couch and heading through to the kitchen. “Emma's out right now, but she should be back in an hour or two. I'm making salmon. Want to say?”

“Yes,” Lacey said without hesitation. “But… I need to talk to you about something.”

“What?”

“You don't know what I do.”

Ruby paused in her cooking business. “No,” she said. “I don't.”

“Well, about that.” Lacey smiled tightly. “How would you feel about me flipping on the Dark Wizard Gold?”

Ruby, very slowly and very carefully, set down her spatula and turned to face Lacey. “Say that again?”

Lacey shrugged. “I work for the wizarding underworld,” she said. “But I want to go straight.”

“Why?” Ruby asked, not totally sure if she'd fully registered the first part yet.

“Mainly for your bacon. And the way you managed to come up with a good espresso in _my_ kitchen. And the sex, of course. The sex is really good too.” Lacey opened her hands and gave a hopeful smile. “Whadya say? Take down a crime boss, and, well, have me too?”

Ruby stared at the girl who had walked into her life just when all her expectations about the way things were supposed to be had been blown. For someone who had never expected a life more dramatic than waiting tables and chambermaiding at her Granny's Inn, things had not turned out the way she'd planned. And it was starting to look like she needed to start dreaming big, because more things than she'd ever wanted were just falling in her lap.

“Okay,” she said. “Okay.”

Lacey smiled, and Ruby could do nothing but grin.

#

 


End file.
